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After passing the course, the student should be able to:

• Give an account of practices and infrastructures for sustainable transport and mobility as a component of sustainable urban development
• Give an account of the interplay between land use planning, transportation planning and other fields of urban development in relation to the furtherance of more sustainable cities and demonstrate an understanding of challenges and opportunities associated with the coordination of transport and mobility planning and other aspects of urban and regional planning
• Apply theories on sustainability transformation to questions on sustainable transport and mobility in an urban context
• Demonstrate a qualitative understanding of mobility needs of urban residents and their relation to and experiences from the transport system
• Discuss how gender, socio-cultural, economic and other factors influence individuals' and different societal groups' accessibility to mobility options
• Analyse mobility patterns as part of urban social dynamics and transport infrastructure and discuss in a qualitative way the role of social, economic and cultural factors to shape these patterns
• Analyse alternative courses of action for the development of sustainable urban mobility and discuss the applicability of methods for the accelerating sustainability transformation in relation to sustainable urban transport and mobility
• Analyse challenges for decision-making and cooperation between different actors in relation to the implementation of measures for sustainable transport and mobility in an urban context

The course consists of lectures, seminars, a group assignment, and an individual assignment. The first part of the course is structured into three packages, where each package contains 3 lectures and ends with a seminar to discuss the preparatory readings for all lectures of that package. The second part of the course consists of a group assignment followed by an individual assignment, in which course contents from the first part are applied to real-life mobility innovations and policy interventions.

Students are advised to pre-read the literature relating to each lecture theme in order to better benefit from the lectures. The literature listed under each “block” is reading for the related seminar. Literature marked within an asterix (*) is core reading and expected reading for the seminars. No asterix means suggested, extensive reading for those who are looking for a more in-depth understanding of the topic.

Block 1 (lectures 1-3, seminar 1)

Course introduction: Sustainable – Urban – Mobility

[1] * Holden, E., Linnerud, K., & Banister, D. (2013). Sustainable passenger transport: Back to Brundtland. Transportation Research. Part A, Policy and Practice, 54, 67-77. DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2013.07.012

[2] * Bissell, D. (2018). Introduction: Thinking Commuting Differently. In Transit Life: How Commuting Is Transforming Our Cities, xii–xxxvii. MIT Press. DOI: 10.7551/mitpress/11399.001.0001

[3] Urry, J. (2004). The ‘System’ of Automobility. Theory, Culture & Society, 21(4-5), 25-39. DOI: 10.1177/0263276404046059

Sustainable urban mobility: Past, present, future

[4] * Schipper, F., Emanuel, M., & Oldenziel, R. (2020). Sustainable Urban Mobility in the Present, Past, and Future. Technology and Culture, 61(1), 307-317. DOI: 10.1353/tech.2020.0004

[5] * Holden, E., et al. (2020). Grand Narratives for Sustainable Mobility: A Conceptual Review. Energy research & social science, 65:101454. DOI: 10.1016/j.erss.2020.101454

[6] Geels, F. (2005). The dynamics of transitions in socio-technical systems: A multi-level analysis of the transition pathway from horse-drawn carriages to automobiles (1860-1930). Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 17(4), 445-476. DOI: 10.1080/09537320500357319

Urban mobility transitions in theory and practice

[7] * Geels, F. (2012). A socio-technical analysis of low-carbon transitions: Introducing the multi-level perspective into transport studies. Journal of Transport Geography, 24, 471-482. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2012.01.021

[8] * Bertolini, L. (2017). Planning for Transformative Change in the Face of Uncertainty and Complexity. In: Planning the Mobile Metropolis: Transport for People, Places and the Planet (chapter 6). London: Bloomsbury Publishing [Available as an e-book in KTHB.]

[9] Schneider, J. et al. (2022). SUMP Topic Guide: Decarbonisation of Urban Mobility. Brussels: European Commission. https://www.rupprecht-consult.eu/fileadmin/user_upload/sump_topic_guide_decarbonisation.pdf

Block 2 (lectures 4-6, seminar 2)

Lifestyles, attitudes and urban mobility

[10] * Van Acker, V., Goodwin, P. & Witlox, F. (2016). Key Research Themes on Travel Behavior, Lifestyle, and Sustainable Urban Mobility. International journal of sustainable transportation, 10 (1):25-32.

[11] * Aldred, R., & Jungnickel, K. (2014). Why culture matters for transport policy: The case of cycling in the UK. Journal of Transport Geography, 34, 78-87. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2013.11.004

[12] Vannini, P. (2010). Mobile Cultures: From the Sociology of Transportation to the Study of Mobilities: Mobile Cultures. Sociology Compass 4(2), 111–21. DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00268.x

Mobility justice and (in)equality

[13] * Pereira, R. H., Schwanen, T., & Banister, D. (2017). Distributive justice and equity in transportation. Transport reviews, 37(2), 170-191. DOI: 10.1080/01441647.2016.1257660

[14] * Henriksson, M., Wallsten, A. and Ihlström, J. (2022). Can bike-sharing contribute to transport justice? Exploring a municipal bike-sharing system. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 103, p.103185. DOI:10.1016/j.trd.2022.103185

[15] Sheller, M. (2015). Racialized Mobility Transitions in Philadelphia: Connecting Urban Sustainability and Transport Justice. City & Society, 27(1), 70-91. DOI: 10.1111/ciso.12049

Techno-politics of urban mobility

[16] * Cresswell, T. (2010). Towards a Politics of Mobility. Environment and Planning. D, Society & Space, 28(1), 17-31. DOI: 10.1068/d11407

[17] * Emanuel, M. (2015). Monuments of Unsustainability: Planning, Path Dependence, and Cycling in Stockholm. In: Oldenziel, R. & Trischler, H. (eds.) Cycling and Recycling: Histories of Sustainable Practices. New York: Berghahn [Available as an e-book in KTHB]

[18] Van der Straeten, J. (2022). Sustainability’s “Other”: Coming to Terms with the Electric Rickshaw in Bangladesh. Historical Social Research 24(4), 139–167. doi:10.12759/hsr.47.2022.42

Block 3 (lectures 7-9, seminar 3)

Governing mobility transitions in multi-level governance situations

[19] * Stead, D. (2016). Key research themes on governance and sustainable urban mobility. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation, 10(1), 40-48. DOI: 10.1080/15568318.2013.821008

[20] * Isaksson, K. (2021). Governance challenges and opportunities. In: Travel Transitions: How Transport Planners and Policy Makers Can Respond to Shifting Mobility Trends. Paris: International Transport Forum (pp. 70–79). https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/docs/travel-transitions-shifting-mobility-trends.pdf

[21] Isaksson, K., Antonson, H., & Eriksson, L. (2017). Layering and parallel policy making – Complementary concepts for understanding implementation challenges related to sustainable mobility. Transport Policy 53, 50-57. DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2016.08.014

Experimentation as a governance process

[22] * VanHoose, K., de Gante, A. R., Bertolini, L., Kinigadner, J., & Büttner, B. (2022). From temporary arrangements to permanent change: Assessing the transitional capacity of city street experiments. Journal of Urban Mobility, 2, 100015. DOI: 10.1016/j.urbmob.2022.100015

[23] * Smeds, E. and Papa, E. (2023). The value of street experiments for mobility and public life: Citizens’ perspectives from three European cities. Journal of Urban Mobility, 4: 100055.

[24] Hodson, M., Evans, J. P., and Schliwa, G. (2018). Conditioning experimentation: The struggle for place-based discretion in shaping urban infrastructures. Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 36(8), 1480–1498. DOI: 10.1177/2399654418765480

Integrating transport and land use planning

[25] * Straatemeier, T. and Bertolini, L. (2020) How can planning for accessibility lead to more integrated transport and land-use strategies? Two examples from the Netherlands. European Planning Studies, 28(9), 1713–1734. DOI: 10.1080/09654313.2019.1612326

[26] * Legacy, C., Curtis, C. and Scheurer, J. (2017) Planning transport infrastructure: examining the politics of transport planning in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Urban Policy and Research, 35(1), 44-60. DOI: 10.1080/08111146.2016.1272448

[27] Nordregio (2016) Transit-oriented development and sustainable urban planning. Nordregio, Austrian Institute for Spatial Planning (ÖIR), TU Delft. Available here.

Students at KTH with a permanent disability can get support during studies from Funka:

Funka - compensatory support for students with disabilities

A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• INL1 - Hand in assignment, 3.0 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• PRO1 - Project, 2.5 credits, Grading scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F
• SEM1 - Seminar, 2.0 credits, Grading scale: P, F

Based on recommendation from KTH’s coordinator for disabilities, the examiner will decide how to adapt an examination for students with documented disability.

The examiner may apply another examination format when re-examining individual students.

The examiner determines, based on recommendation from the KTH office of support to students with disabilities, possible adapted examination for students with documented, permanent disabilities.

The examiner may permit other examination formats at the re-examination of individual students.

The deadlines for submission of the assignments of the course is found in the Detailed plan (above).

Seminars (SEM1)

The course includes nine lectures that correspond to three literature packages of three lectures each. The literature relating to the three packages are discussed in the form of seminars for which students are to hand in 1-2 pages of reflections on the specific literature in advance. These reflections should be guided by questions posted separately on Canvas in advance of each seminar. Seminar reflections are graded pass or fail (P/F). When a reflection does not live up to the requirements to pass, the student will have a chance to improve based on teachers’ feedback. Seminar attendance and active participation in discussions is mandatory. Students who miss a seminar (incl. late submission of a reflection) will have to make up for it at an extra seminar towards the end of the course.

Project (PRO1)

The project is made up of a group assignment in which students assess and analyze a real-life urban mobility issue. Every group of 4 students will work with a specific mobility innovation or policy intervention in a given spatial context (e.g. city, city-region, city district). The aim is that students gain an understanding of the complexity of urban mobility transitions to achieve sustainable development, and that they acquire a capacity to elaborate different scenarios that may occur based on different choices and solutions. The group work is facilitated by a start-up workshop and a tutorial and should result in a 8-10 pages written report, which is graded A-F. When an report receives the grade Fx, the student group will have a chance to improve based on teachers’ feedback. A detailed instruction will be posted separately on Canvas in advance of the start of the group work.

Hand in assignment (INL1)

For the individual assignment, students are to write an essay in which they carry out an extended discussion in relation to the issue that they worked with in the group assignment, including further analysis and reflection based on theories and concepts presented in the course literature. The aim is that students gain an understanding of the governance challenges related to urban mobility transitions, and that they acquire a capacity to carry out theoretical analysis of sustainability transformations in the domain of urban mobility. The individual assignment should result in a 6-8 pages written essay, which is graded A-F. When an essay receives the grade Fx, the student will have a chance to improve based on teachers’ feedback. A more detailed instruction will be posted separately on Canvas in advance of the start of the individual assignment.

Intended learning outcomes (repeated)

 After passing the course, the student should be able to:

1. Give an account of practices and infrastructures for sustainable transport and mobility as a component of sustainable urban development
2. Give an account of the interplay between land use planning, transportation planning and other fields of urban development in relation to the furtherance of more sustainable cities and demonstrate an understanding of challenges and opportunities associated with the coordination of transport and mobility planning and other aspects of urban and regional planning
3. Apply theories on sustainability transformation to questions on sustainable transport and mobility in an urban context
4. Demonstrate a qualitative understanding of mobility needs of urban residents and their relation to and experiences from the transport system
5. Discuss how gender, socio-cultural, economic and other factors influence individuals' and different societal groups' accessibility to mobility options
6. Analyse mobility patterns as part of urban social dynamics and transport infrastructure and discuss in a qualitative way the role of social, economic and cultural factors to shape these patterns
7. Analyse alternative courses of action for the development of sustainable urban mobility and discuss the applicability of methods for the accelerating sustainability transformation in relation to sustainable urban transport and mobility
8. Analyse challenges for decision-making and cooperation between different actors in relation to the implementation of measures for sustainable transport and mobility in an urban context

Seminars (SEM1)

The seminars examines (P/F) learning outcomes [a], [b] and[e] and is formative for the other learning outcomes. 

In order to Pass, the student shall be able to:

• Account for how mobility features as a problem and possibility for achieving sustainable urban development
• Account for strategies to mitigate the impact of mobility on sustainable urban development
• Account for how access to mobility is distributed across social groups
• Interpret findings related to accessibility from the point of view of mobility justice and equity.
• Give examples of inter- and intragenerational conflicts (at least one of each) with respect to sustainable urban mobility
• Account for core aspects of integrated land use and transport planning
• Give examples of challenges of integrated planning and its relevance to sustainable urban development

Project (PRO1)

The group assignment examines (A-F) learning outcomes [d], [f] and [g].

Hand in assignment (INL1)

The individual assignment examines (A-F) learning outcomes [c], [g] and [h].

Final grade

The final grade of the full course (A-F) is weighted between a student’s grade in PRO1 and INL1, with some more weight given to INL1 as it corresponds to more credits, higher order learning goals, and reflects the individual student’s performance better than PRO1.

If not passed, the student will be failed with Fx if small adjustments needed, otherwise F.

• All members of a group are responsible for the group's work.
• In any assessment, every student shall honestly disclose any help received and sources used.
• In an oral assessment, every student shall be able to present and answer questions about the entire assignment and solution.